Monthly Saving and Investing Schedule

Every month, I put some money in our savings and investment accounts and I do it on fixed dates. Yes, I am not trying to time the market, but rather making sure that saving/investing comes first.

Both my wife and I get our paychecks every two weeks, and most of bills (mortgage, credit cards, phones, and utilities) are paid in the first week of the month. After paying off all the bills, additional transfer in the middle of the month may occur depending on how much is left in the checking account at Bank of America. Usually, I keep about $3000 in the check account. Since most of the expenses are predictable, this automated saving/investing schedule has worked very well for us.

Saving: On the day we get our salaries, $300 is transferred from the checking account to the EmigrantDirect savings account; additional transfer may be possible in the middle of the month.

Mutual fund investing: I dollar-cost-average the minimum required amount (either $100 or $50) into ten of twelve mutual funds on the 5th of the month using the fund’s automatic investing plan. I choose to invest into mutual funds early in the month because dividends are usually declared and distributed at the end of the month and fund price may dip after the distribution. I also want to avoid buy-the-dividend.

Bonds: I buy $3000 4-week T-Bill every week from the savings account at HSBC. For T-Bill purchase, I don’t have to keep $12,000 in my account as the purchase is made after the matured bill is deposited. In addition, I buy $200 I-bond on the 28th of the month. There is no reason to buy bond earlier in the month as you will get interests of the full even when the purchase is made on the last day.

Saving and investing require discipline. With an automatic plan, saving and investing always come first than spending.

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